Match Report : 20/09/2014

A late goal from Martyn Waghorn was not enough to grab a dramatic point for Wigan Athletic, who slipped to their first home defeat of the season to Ipswich, after going two goals down.

Goals from Hyam and former Wigan striker Connor Sammon sealed the points for Mick McCarthy’s side, before Waghorn’s strike eight minutes from time set up a grandstand finish, in which Oriol Riera hit the woodwork.

Latics made two changes from the side which drew 0-0 in Huddersfield on Tuesday, with Adam Forshaw and Shaun Maloney coming in for Emyr Huws and Andrew Taylor, meaning that all three deadline day signings made their home debuts.

Latics started brightly, dominating the possession, and carved out the first chance of the game within four minutes, with Andy Delort heading over from a Shaun Maloney cross in the area.

Latics continued to have the majority of the play in the opening ten minutes and could have been awarded a penalty, when Emmerson Boyce was brought to the floor by Christophe Berra, only for referee Andy Woolmer to wave the play on.

Ipswich soon grew into the game however, with Tyrone Mings’ pace catching the eye down the left hand side. The visitors built on this, and had their first real opportunity in the 18th minute, when Daryl Murphy picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and shot, forcing a save from Scott Carson.

Mick McCarthy’s side were in front two minutes later, with Mings picking out Luke Hyam with a low cross, who finished past Scott Carson from eight yards out.

Ipswich almost doubled their lead two minutes later, when Murphy’s cross evaded Carson, only for Ivan Ramis to clear away before David McGoldrick could apply the finish.

Latics were dealt another blow just past the half mark, when the consistently dangerous looking Callum McManaman limped off the pitch, to be replaced by James McClean.

The hosts responded however, and Ipswich were lucky to still have eleven men on the field, when Tyrone Mings brought down Shaun Maloney, after the Wigan talisman had looked to have been one-on-one with Dean Gerken.

Uwe Rosler’s men continued to dominate the possession, and tried to put an attack together in the closing stages of the first half, but went into the interval a goal down.

The second half continued in a similar vein, with Latics seeing plenty of the ball, but lacking the clinical touch in the final third.

New signing Adam Forshaw caught the eye in the middle of the field, seeing plenty of the ball, and carved out the first opportunity of the second half in the 51st minute, when he picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired a shot just over the bar.

Ipswich continued to look dangerous going forward however, particularly McGoldrick, and the forward was involved in the visitors’ second, when he threaded the ball through to former Latics man Connor Sammon, who rounded Carson and poked the ball into an empty net.

The visitors could have had a third soon after, with McGoldrick again causing trouble, firing wide from the edge of the area.

The hosts refused to lie down however, and pulled one back eight minutes from time, when substitute Martyn Waghorn turned in James McClean’s shot from just inside of the area, after the ball had fallen to him from a corner, to set up a tense finale.

Latics suddenly burst into life, and were unlucky not to have snatched an unlikely point at the death, creating several chances in the final few minutes.

Adam Forshaw continued to impress and the midfielder was unlucky not the level the scores, when his long ranger header from the edge of the box was palmed away by Gerken.

Latics looked like a different side in the closing stages, and were desperately unlucky not to have to grabbed a dramatic late equaliser three minutes from time, when substitute Oriol Riera slammed the ball against the post inside the area. Forshaw picked out Boyce with an impressive cross-field pass, who then found the Spaniard who rattled the inside of the woodwork from close range.

Latics continued to press forward in the dying seconds, but the hosts were unable to grab that definitive goal and slipped to their first home defeat of the season.